Driverless cars inching closer to reality

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The photo shows a picture of a family playing a board game as their car glides along the freeway. Nobody’s eyes are on the road, not even the driver’s.

The game is dominoes. The picture is black and white, clearly a depiction from the 1960s. The suggestion is this is a far-fetched, futuristic method of traveling.

Imagine if those motorists were told that in five decades, they could carry a phone in their pocket? And that that phone would double as a computer. And they could even play “Dominoes with Friends” on that computer. The likelihood of driverless vehicles and pocket-sized computers then are comparable to us believing we will someday be traveling in flying cars.

The notion probably would seem silly to those distracted domino players, but that photo is becoming a reality.

Last month, Google received permission to test driverless vehicles in Nevada. The state set regulations for the companies before issuing the permit, but before we get to those, there are some obvious concerns that other motorists have about the new technology.

Computers crash, so how can we trust them to operate a vehicle? What if it doesn’t detect a car in the neighboring lane and switches over? How will insurance companies handle these vehicles?

The idea has been floated for a few years, but it is still foreign to us. And the idea that this is actually happening seems surreal.

Now, I reached out to my Facebook friends to ask their thoughts on driverless cars and hoped for some insightful thoughts, concerns or even excitement. But apparently my friends are tools and the responses were not fit for print. Yes, to answer most comments, I have become a transportation dork.

Here’s a taste, from my own brother John, who is dimwitted enough to drive a mo-ped through the clogged and crazy streets of Jakarta, Indonesia.

“I wanna see how cops react when they pull over a vehicle that has been swerving over the lane, notice an open container but no one is in the car.”

OK, dumb-dumb, let’s dissect this. First, where is the car going to be going by itself? And to the best of my knowledge, these cars aren’t advanced enough to detect blue and red lights behind it, panic and pull over so the cop could even peer into the vehicle and “react” to the open container.

Actually, I share my brother’s stupid sense of humor and envisioning a cop standing there staring into a personless vehicle and saying, “What the …?” is kind of funny. But cars don’t drink alcohol or do drugs so let’s move on.

These cars have been tested elsewhere. In 2010, Stanford University ran a computerized Audi TT to the top of Pike’s Peak mountain in Colorado. The vehicle negotiated the winding 12-mile road in 27 minutes. An expert driver could have accomplished the trip in 17 minutes, according to gizmag.com.

Google is the first company to give these vehicle a run on public streets alongside real drivers in Nevada. The company will test three to five vehicles and they must have two people – real-live humans – in the car at all times. If the people sense a glitch with the computer, they can easily take control. They also have to have logged 10,000 miles before they hit our roadways.

Before the vehicles can be sold to the public, engineers have plenty to prove and not all has been sorted out. It must show that sensors can capture and store information from 30 seconds prior to a crash. The data has to be saved for three years.

The driver must be able to engage and disengage the autonomous switch without being distracted from the roadway.

Here’s a troubling requirement in the state’s regulations document: “If the operator is unable to take control of or is not physically present in the autonomous vehicle, is equipped with technology to cause the autonomous vehicle to safely move out of traffic and come to a stop.” Not physically present? My apologies to my brother.

These vehicles are high-tech. Because they have not yet been shipped to the Silver State, I haven’t had an opportunity to settle into the driver’s, no, passenger’s seat. But writer Tom Vanderbilt was lucky enough to give it a whirl in California. (By the way, that retro black-and-white photo was posted on Vanderbilt’s website howwedrive.com as a teaser to his test drive for Wired magazine.)

He reported that the vehicles detect unexpected objects in the roads, can sense and avoid bicyclists and pedestrians – that alone should be a significant selling point in Southern Nevada, where 23 pedestrians have been killed so far this year.

The Wired reporter also said the vehicle recognized traffic signals and merged onto a freeway like a typical responsible driver. The driver pushes a button to switch lanes, but the vehicle ensures that move is safe before executing it.

Windshield-mounted cameras detect lane markers, the speed of the vehicle is measured by a device on the wheels and sensors take a 360-degree spin around the vehicle 20 times per second.

As with any new technology, there are some flaws. The vehicles have trouble in inclement weather, which might explain why Google has chosen Nevada to test drive these cars. They also struggle to detect and recognize objects in front of them on sharp turns.

Google didn’t respond to our inquiries about the vehicles, such as when the pilot program will begin or when these vehicles are expected to hit dealerships. But there is little question this new technology is well on its way.

Now, how about those flying vehicles? George Jetson might not be around anymore, but hit me up Elroy, I want to hear about how they ride.

If you have a question, tip or tirade, call Adrienne Packer at 702-387-2904, or send an email to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com. Include your phone number. Also, you can follow her on Twitter @RJ_RoadWarrior.